#196 Virtua's Desolation

Age: 400 Years

Hidden or Lost?: Lost

History: Virtua was meant to be a utopia on the psychic plane. The first virtual world, a perfect dreamland accessible only to the most powerful psychics. A place free from the limitations of the material world, where imagination and exploration reigned supreme, dreams could be brought to life and the inhabitants could live on forever as psychic tulpas, even as their bodies rotted back to the dirt. But none could have foreseen the dangers that would bring the astral metropolis to its knees.

The metaphysical stronghold that would come to be known as Virtua was founded by a group of the world’s most incredible psychic powers, erected right behind everyone’s dreams. A grand Imaginodia amphitheater was created, where ideas could be brought to life, tested, and transformed by the Thought Senate, a conglomerate of frighteningly powerful psychics that were set to rule over Virtua. Those hoping to push the boundaries of psychic travel descended into the Dreaming Bore, a bottomless well that reached down into the further realms of thought, where wild concepts and demon philosophies roamed. And on and on their heedless exploration continued.

But not all was free and grand. The Thought Senate were far from naïve to the dangers of the psychic realm. A barrier was formed around Virtua, kept in existence by living minds conscripted to the singular purpose of maintaining the psychic fence. The barrier kept at bay the strange beings and brainstorms that ravaged the plane. There was also a jail of sorts, known as ‘The Compartments,’ where malformed ideas and destructive psychics could be held in safety.

For two centuries Virtua stood as a fascinating virtual stronghold of psychic existence, but nightmares began to flourish as easily as dreams. Most notably, a crafty thoughtform was brought up from the Dreaming Bore calling itself the Virex Cutter. The anomalous presence argued for admittance to the Thought Senate, eventually winning a seat. But it soon became clear that the Virex Cutter was determined to destroy Virtua and escape to the material world.

It poisoned the minds and creations of the virtual world, desperately trying to find a channel back to a vessel in the physical realm. The Thought Senate fought back, but it was too late to stop the Virex Cutter, which had created nightmare cascades that threatened to spread to the real world. Finally the Senate initiated the Desolation Meditation, a failsafe event that destroyed most of Virtua but also killed the connected psychics. The price was high, but the Virex Cutter was contained.

Today, Virtua’s Desolation can still be found on the psychic plane by anyone foolish enough to answer the strange calls that occasionally worm into their dreams. Most psychics know better than to visit the astral ruin, but the Virex Cutter can wait for the fool that doesn’t.

1. The Mind’s Eye Gate

2. Barrier Broken

3. The Imaginodea

4. Thought Senate Chambers

5. Fractal Dream Steps

6. Tomorrow’s Pyramid

7. Tower of Intellect

8. Perspective Lens

9. Palace of the Virex Cutter

10. Tear of Panic

11. The Compartments

12. Guardian Fog

13. The Communication Orbs

14. The Perfect Plan

15. The Dreaming Bore

16. Miasma From Outside